Pet Sounds is the
eleventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released May
16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has since been recognized as one of the most
influential records in the history of popular music and one of the best albums
of the 1960s, including songs such as "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and
"God Only Knows". Pet Sounds was created several months after Brian
Wilson had quit touring with the band in order to focus his attention on
writing and recording. In it, he wove elaborate layers of vocal harmonies,
coupled with sound effects and unconventional instruments such as bicycle
bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, Electro-Theremin, dog whistles,
trains, Hawaiian-sounding string instruments, Coca-Cola cans and barking dogs,
along with the more usual keyboards and guitars.

Although Pet
Sounds was met with strong sales abroad, reaching number two in the UK, it
charted lower in the US than the majority of the band's preceding albums,
peaking at number ten on the Billboard 200. A heralding album in the emerging
psychedelic rock style, Pet Sounds has been championed and emulated for its
dramatic and revolutionary baroque pop instrumentation. It has been ranked at
number one in several music magazines' lists of greatest albums of all time,
including NME, The Times and Mojo Magazine. It was ranked number two in Rolling
Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. It was preserved into the
National Recording Registry in 2004 by the Library of Congress for being
"culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."

Cover photo and
title meaning

On February 15,
the group traveled to the San Diego Zoo to shoot the photographs for the cover,
which had already been titled Pet Sounds. George Jerman has been credited for
taking the cover photo. According to the Pet Sounds' liner notes, "The
photos of The Beach Boys feeding an assortment of goats was a play on the
album's chosen title, Pet Sounds."

Both the origin
and meaning of the album title Pet Sounds are uncertain. Brian Wilson has
claimed at one point that the title was "a tribute" to Phil Spector
by naming the album using his initials. Carl Wilson later spoke about the album
title: "The idea he had was that everybody has these sounds that they
love, and this was a collection of his 'pet sounds.' It was hard to think of a
name for the album, because you sure couldn't call it Shut Down Vol. 3."

Mike Love also
has laid claim to coming up with the title. "We were standing in the
hallway in one of the recording studios, either Western or Columbia, and we
didn't have a title," he recounted. "We had taken pictures at the zoo
and ... there were animal sounds on the record, and we were thinking, well,
it's our favorite music of that time, so I said, 'Why don't we call it Pet
Sounds?'"

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

"I Love My
Dog" is a song written by Cat Stevens, and it was his first single (b/w
"Portobello Road"), showing up on his debut album, Matthew and Son.
Stevens later acknowledged that the song has been inspired by American jazz
multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef's "The Plum Blossom" (from Eastern
Sounds) with which it shares a melody.

The B-side track,
"Portobello Road", is about the famous street and market in London,
England. The song lyric was written by American Kim Fowley, and Stevens was
asked to collaborate by composing music for it. It was later covered by
Stevens' first guitarist, Alun Davies, after signing with Island Records in
1970. Davies' version appeared on his first solo album, Daydo, in 1974.

Cat Stevens

Yusuf Islam (born
Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948), commonly known by his former stage name
Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist,
humanitarian and education philanthropist. He is a prominent convert to Islam.

His early 1970s
albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat were both certified
triple platinum in the United States by the RIAA. His 1972 album Catch Bull at
Four sold half a million copies in the first two weeks of release alone and was
Billboard's number-one LP for three consecutive weeks. He has also earned two
ASCAP songwriting awards in consecutive years for "The First Cut Is the
Deepest", which has been a hit single for four different artists.

Stevens converted
to Islam in December 1977 and adopted the name Yusuf Islam the following year.
In 1979, he auctioned all his guitars for charity and left his music career to
devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community.
He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world,
including the 2003 World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award, and the 2007
Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music with his first
album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled An Other Cup. He is now known
professionally by the single name Yusuf. His most recent album, Roadsinger, was
released on 5 May 2009.

A pet (or
companion animal) is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or
protection, as opposed to working animals, sport animals, livestock, and
laboratory animals, which are kept primarily for performance, agricultural
value, or research. The most popular pets are noted for their attractive
appearances and their loyal or playful personalities.

Pets commonly
provide their owners (or guardians) physical and emotional benefits. Walking a
dog can supply both the human and pet with exercise, fresh air, and social
interaction. Pets can give companionship to elderly adults who do not have
adequate social interaction with other people. There is a medically approved
class of therapy animals, mostly dogs, that are brought to visit confined
humans. Pet therapy utilizes trained animals and handlers to achieve specific
physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with patients.

The most popular
pets are likely dogs and cats, but people also keep house rabbits; rodents such
as gerbils, hamsters, chinchillas, fancy rats, and guinea pigs; avian pets,
such as canaries, parakeets, and parrots; reptile pets, such as turtles,
lizards and snakes; aquatic pets, such as tropical fish and frogs; and
arthropod pets, such as tarantulas and hermit crabs.

Some scholars and
animal rights organizations have raised concern over pet-keeping with regards
to the autonomy of nonhuman animals.

Etymology

Originally from
Northern English and Scots dialects, origin is unsure but may have arisen due
to influence of petty pertaining to children and later companion animals.
Almost certainly of Germanic etymology.

Noun

pet (plural pets)

1.An animal kept as a companion.

2.One who is excessively loyal to a superior.

3.Any person or animal especially cherished
and indulged; a darling.

Common types

While many people
have kept many different species of animals in captivity over the course of
human history, only a relative few have been kept long enough to be considered
domesticated. Other types of animals, notably monkeys, have never been
domesticated but are still commonly sold and kept as pets. There are also
inanimate objects that have been kept as "pets", either as a form of
game, or humorously (e.g. the pet rock or Chia pet).

Domesticated

Domesticated pets
are the most common types of pet. A domesticated animal is any animal that has
been tamed and made fit for a human environment. They have consistently been
kept in captivity over a long enough period of time that they exhibit marked
differences in behavior and appearance from their wild relatives.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

London is the capital city of England
and of the United
Kingdom. With an
estimated 8,308,369 residents in 2012, London is the most
populous region, urban zone and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and is the largest city in the European Union. Standing on the
River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going
back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient
core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km2)
mediaeval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it
the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also
referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation
forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the
Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

London is a leading global city, with
strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance,
healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and
transport all contributing to its prominence. It is one of the world's leading
financial centres and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in
the world depending on measurement. London is a world cultural
capital. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international
arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger
traffic. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher
education in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three
times.

London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300
languages are spoken within its boundaries. London had an
official population of 8,174,100, making it the most populous municipality in
the European Union, and accounting for 12.5% of the UK
population. The Greater London Urban Area is the second-largest in the EU with
a population of 9,787,426 according to the 2011 census. The London metropolitan
area is the largest in the EU with a total population of 13,614,409, while the
Greater London Authority puts the population of London metropolitan
region at 21 million. London had the largest population of any city in the world from around
1831 to 1925.

Landmarks

London contains four World Heritage Sites:
the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of
Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic
settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory, Greenwich marks the
Prime Meridian, 0° longitude, and GMT). Other famous landmarks include
Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral,
Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. London is home to
numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural
institutions, including the BritishMuseum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, British Library and 40 West End theatres. The London
Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.

Tourism

London is a popular centre for tourism, one of its prime industries,
employing the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in 2003, while annual
expenditure by tourists is around £15 billion. London attracts
over 14 million international visitors per year, making it Europe's most visited city. London attracts 27
million overnight-stay visitors every year. In 2010 the ten most-visited attractions
in London were:

1. BritishMuseum

2. Tate Modern

3. National Gallery

4. NaturalHistoryMuseum

5. London Eye

6. ScienceMuseum

7. Victoria and AlbertMuseum

8. Madame Tussauds

9. National Maritime Museum

10. Tower of London

Music

London is one of
the major classical and popular music capitals of the world and is home to
major music corporations, such as EMI and Warner Music Group as well as
countless bands, musicians and industry professionals. The city is also home to
many orchestras and concert halls, such as the Barbican Arts Centre (principal
base of the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus), Cadogan
Hall (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Royal Albert Hall (The Proms).
London's two main opera houses are the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum
Theatre. The UK's largest pipe organ can be found at the Royal Albert Hall.
Other significant instruments are found at the cathedrals and major churches.
Several conservatoires are located within the city: Royal Academy of Music,
Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity College
of Music.

London has
numerous venues for rock and pop concerts, including large arenas such as Earls
Court, Wembley Arena and the O2 Arena, as well as many mid-sized venues, such
as Brixton Academy, the Hammersmith Apollo and the Shepherd's Bush Empire.
Several music festivals, including the Wireless Festival, are held in London.
The city is home to the first and original Hard Rock Cafe and the Abbey Road
Studios where The Beatles recorded many of their hits. In the 1970s and 1980s,
musicians and groups like Elton John, David Bowie, Queen, Elvis Costello, Cat
Stevens, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Who,
Electric Light Orchestra, Madness, The Jam, The Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, Iron
Maiden, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, The Cure, Cream, Phil Collins and Sade, took
the world by storm, deriving their sound from the streets and rhythms vibrating
through London.

London was
instrumental in the development of punk music, with figures such as the Sex
Pistols, The Clash, and Vivienne Westwood all based in the city. More recent
artists to emerge from the London music scene include George Michael,
Bananarama, Bush, East 17, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Spice Girls,
Jamiroquai, Blur, The Prodigy, The Libertines, Babyshambles, Bloc Party,
Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse and Adele.

London is also a
centre for urban music. In particular the genres UK garage, drum and bass,
dubstep and grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of hip hop and
reggae, alongside local drum and bass. Black music station BBC Radio 1Xtra was
set up to support the rise of home-grown urban music both in London and in the
rest of the UK.

London Cliché

Everyone
knows that London is famous for its red telephone booths and the Big Ben clock tower.
And, nearly everyone who visits takes home a picture of one or the other.

It can be
challenging to find a booth free of tourists hanging all over it, or posing in
various positions to get the most unique snapshot............

Monday, November 18, 2013

"Streets of London" is a
song written by Ralph McTell. It was first recorded for McTell's 1969 album
Spiral Staircase but was not released in the United Kingdom as a single until 1974. It was his greatest commercial success,
reaching number two in the UK
singles chart, at one point selling 90,000 copies a day and winning him the
Ivor Novello Award and a Silver disc for record sales.

The song was inspired by McTell's
experiences busking and hitchhiking throughout Europe, especially in Paris and
the individual stories are taken from Parisians – McTell was originally going
to call the song Streets of Paris; eventually London was chosen because he
realised he was singing about London. The song contrasts the common problems of
everyday people with those of the homeless, lonely, elderly, ignored and
forgotten members of society.

McTell left the song off his debut album,
Eight Frames a Second, since he regarded it as too depressing, and did not
record it until persuaded by his producer, Gus Dudgeon, for his second album in
1969. A re-recorded version charted in the Netherlands in April 1972, notching up to #9 the next month. McTell re-recorded
it for the UK single release in 1974.

McTell played the song in a fingerpicking
style with an AABA chord progression. Over two hundred artists have made covers
of this song including Glen Campbell, Harry Belafonte, Cliff Richard,
Blackmore's Night, Mary Hopkin, Raffi, Sam Hui, Sinéad O'Connor, Schooner Fare,
Anti-Nowhere League, Roger Whittaker, Cleo Laine and Liam Clancy. Its
popularity was also the subject of a comedy sketch on BBC show Big Train.

Ralph McTell

Ralph McTell (born
Ralph May, 3 December 1944 is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar
player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s.

McTell is best
known for his song "Streets of London", which has been covered by
over two hundred artists around the world, and for his tale of Irish
emigration, "From Clare to Here".

In the 1980s he
wrote and played songs for two TV children's programmes, Alphabet Zoo, which
also featured Nerys Hughes, followed by Tickle on the Tum, featuring Jacqueline
Reddin. Albums were also released from both series. He also recorded Keith Hopwood's
and Malcolm Rowe's theme song to Cosgrove Hall's adaptation of The Wind in the
Willows, and this was released as a single in 1984 after the series was aired
on ITV.

McTell's guitar
playing has been modelled on the style of the US's country blues guitar players
of the early 20th century, including Blind Blake, Robert Johnson and Blind
Willie McTell. These influences led a friend to suggest that he change his
professional name to McTell as his career was beginning to take shape.

McTell is also an
accomplished performer on piano and harmonica, which he uses on a harness.

Streets Of LondonLyrics

Have you seen the
old man

In the closed
down market

Kicking up the
papers,

with his worn out
shoes?

In his eyes you
see no pride

AND held loosely
AT his side

Yesterday's paper
telling yesterday's news

Chorus: So how
can you tell me you're lonely,

and say for you
that the sun don't shine,

Let me take you
by the hand and lead you through the streets of London